You know how helpful an iPhone can be while it is in your hand and you are actively using it. With the new StandBy mode in iOS 17, your iPhone can also be useful when you are not actively using it—especially if you have an iPhone 14 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro that supports an Always-On Display. StandBy mode turns your iPhone into a device that displays glanceable information that is most relevant to you in a way that is designed to be viewed from a distance.

It took me a little while to figure out how to take advantage of StandBy, but once I did, StandBy became perhaps my favorite new feature in iOS 17. Here are some tips for making the most of it, along with recommendations for two fantastic stands that will let you get the most out of StandBy if you want to charge multiple Apple devices at once: (1) the Anker 3-in-1 Cube with MagSafe and (2) the Twelve South HiRise 3 Deluxe.

Entering StandBy mode

An iPhone running iOS 17 enters StandBy mode automatically once four things occur.

First, the iPhone is being charged. For reasons I will get into below, the most elegant way to do this is to use a MagSafe charger, but you can also just plug a cord connected to a power source into your iPhone’s USB-C or Lightning port. For example, if you are working at a computer and you have a charging cable connected to a port on your computer, just plug that cable into the Lightning or USB-C port on your iPhone.

Second, the iPhone must be on its side. In other words, in landscape mode.

Third, the iPhone must be still. If you are charging your iPhone while it is in landscape mode in a car, the iPhone won’t enter StandBy mode.

Fourth, the iPhone must be in its sleep mode. In other words, you are not actively using your iPhone. You can press the side button on your iPhone to enter that mode. Or, if you don’t use an iPhone for a while, the display will dim and go to sleep and eventually enter this mode on its own.

When all four of these conditions are satisfied, the iPhone enters StandBy mode. Once there, it displays useful information on the screen, typically using big numbers and letters that are easy to see from a distance.

The three modes of StandBy mode

Once your iPhone is in StandBy mode, you have three choices for what to display on the screen. The first mode, and the most useful one, displays widgets. Swipe your finger from the right to the left to enter the second mode, which displays photos. Swipe from right to left a third time to display a huge, full-screen clock. You can swipe left or right to move between these three modes.

When you place your iPhone on a MagSafe stand, the iPhone will remember the mode it was in when last attached to that stand and start with that mode again. For example, when I place my iPhone on the stand in my office, I typically see the widget mode, which I prefer to use during the work day, but when I place my iPhone in the stand on my bedstand, I see a full-screen clock, which I prefer to see when I am going to sleep and waking up.

While you are within one of these three modes, you can swipe up or down on the iPhone’s screen to change what is being displayed. For example, in the clock mode, swiping up and down will choose between five different clocks: analog, digital, world (with the time in the left corner on top of a map of the world, with an indication of what part of the world is experiencing sunlight), solar, and float.

If you place your finger on the display and hold down for a second or two, you will enter a settings mode where you can change what is being displayed. Before entering that mode, your iPhone will use Face ID or request a passcode to make sure that you are the one changing something on your iPhone—not somebody else who happens to walk into a room while your iPhone is in StandBy mode. Once your identity is confirmed, your iPhone will let you change various settings related to the StandBy mode that you are in.

For example, in clock mode, once you enter the settings mode, you can tap on the dot at the bottom right corner to change some of the colors on the clock. Tap Done at the top right when you are finished. Using settings mode can be tricky because if you move your iPhone too much, it will exit StandBy mode completely. It is much easier to work in the settings mode if your iPhone is on a stand that is holding it still.

The clock mode is fairly simple, but let’s dig deeper into the other two modes: photos and widgets.

Photos mode

In photos mode, your iPhone acts like a digital picture frame. A photo is displayed across the entire iPhone screen. The time is displayed at the top right. And when the picture changes, for the first few seconds, your iPhone tells you at the bottom right where and when the picture was taken.

By default, in the photos mode, swiping up and down will choose between five different sets of your own photos: featured, nature, pets, cities, and people. I’m fairly certain that the only pets or people that can be displayed are the ones that are identified in the automatic People & Pets album in the Photos app. If you don’t want one of those default choices on. your iPhone, you can enter the settings mode to change what appears when you swipe up or down.

Hold down on the screen for a second or so while in Photos mode to enter the settings mode. Here, you can tap the eye at the top right to turn specific sets of pictures on or off. For example, if you never want to see nature and cities, turn those two modes off. That way, swiping up and down will only switch between features, pets, and people.

When you enter the settings and select the people mode, there is an icon at the bottom right corner. Tap on that to select which people will appear in the photos.

Additionally, if you tap the plus sign at the top left, you can select any one of your albums (from the Photos app) to turn that into a mode in Photos. Thus, you can have many, many different sets of photos to choose between when you swipe up or down.

Widgets mode

The most powerful mode of StandBy is the first one: widgets mode. In that mode, two widgets are displayed side-by-side.

Hopefully, the widget itself will show you all of the information that you want to see. However, if you want more, you can tap once on a widget and an arrow will appear at the top right of the widget. Tap that arrow to launch the app that is associated with the widget. This works especially well for apps that work in landscape orientation.

Just like the other modes, in the widgets mode you can swipe up or down to change to another widget in the stack. However, in the widgets mode, you need to pay attention to the side of the screen on which you are swiping. For example, if you swipe up on the left side of the screen, you swill change the widget on the left side of the screen (only).

To change which widgets are available in a stack in StandBy, enter the settings mode. Hold your finger on either the left or the right side for a second or two to enter the settings mode for widgets on that side of the screen. If you don’t like one of the iPhone’s default widgets, you can tap the minus button at the top left of a widget to remove it from your stack. Tap the plus sign at the top left of the screen to add additional widgets.

If you have edited widgets on an iPhone or iPad home screen before, the process here is similar. First, you select an app that supports StandBy widgets. Second, you select which of the one or more widgets provided by that app that you want to use. For example, a weather app might offer different widgets that display different weather information in different ways.

When you are changing the settings for widgets, you will see two options on the right. The first option is Smart Rotate. If you have Smart Rotate turned on, the widget on that side of the screen will change automatically during the day depending upon which widget the iPhone thinks would be useful—based in part on when that widget receives updated information from its app. Of course, you can always swipe up or down to manually change what widget you are seeing. So far, I prefer to keep Smart Rotate turned off. That way, the left side of my screen always displays a very large clock and I swipe up and down on the right side of my screen to change between different calendar apps, weather apps, and a few others. I’m not a fan of the built-in clock widget because it is analog. I find a digital clock widget to be easier (and faster) to see when I glance at it. Thus, I used the fantastic Widgetsmith app to design a big clock that I find easy to read in a StandBy widget.

The second option in settings is Widget Suggestions. When this is turned on, your iPhone will automatically add widgets to your stack from time to time that you might want to use. It’s a nice way to discover additional widgets, but I prefer to keep this option turned off.

With countless different iPhone apps available, and with each app able to provide you with multiple different widgets, the number of possible StandBy mode widgets is seemingly endless. Indeed, if you use an app like Widgetsmith, you can create your own widgets with infinite possibilities.

Live Activities

I said above that there are three modes: widgets, photos, and clock. There is actually another mode too, but it works a little differently. If you have an iPhone that supports Dynamic Island, you know that certain apps can put information into the Dynamic Island so that you can see information (like a sports score or time until your plane lands) even while you are using another app. And if you tap on the Dynamic Island, that information floats up into a larger panel. There is another mode in StandBy that reminds me of when the Dynamic Island grows to a larger panel.

When you are using StandBy, if an app is ready to display a Live Activity that might normally go in the Dynamic Island while you are using your iPhone but your iPhone is in StandBy mode (and if the app supports StandBy mode) then the Live Activity will display on your iPhone.

For example, if you are playing music and then you enter StandBy mode, you will see a small indicator at the top center of the iPhone’s screen in StandBy mode. Tap that to bring up a full-screen display that shows the album art and buttons to control the music.

I love this mode. It is like the ultimate remote control for whatever music you are listening to in a room. But lots of other apps can take advantage of this mode as well. For example, if you receive a text message, the text message and picture of the person who sent the message can appear on the screen.

When your iPhone is in StandBy mode, if you ask Siri a question, such as the score of a football game, the display will change to show relevant information as Siri is speaking the answer to you.

(Let’s not talk about what happened in the remainder of the Saints game this past Sunday. Ugh.)

Always on display

StandBy mode works best if you have an iPhone that supports an always on display, such as the iPhone 14 Pro, 14 Pro Max, 15 Pro, and 15 Pro Max. That way, whenever you glance at your iPhone, it shows you something useful. In my office, for example, I have my iPhone on a stand that is just below my main monitor. I usually have the time on the left and my calendar with upcoming appointments on the right. That way, whenever I am working at my computer, I can just glance down and instantly see the current time and what appointment is next.

I find this to be incredibly useful—a way for me to get value from my iPhone even when I’m not actively using it. StandBy essentially turns my iPhone into a new smart device, similar to one of those Amazon Alexa Echo devices that have a screen and can display useful information all of the time. But then when I want to use the iPhone as an iPhone, I just pick up my device and start using it. (This is why it is more useful to use MagSafe, avoiding the need to unplug a cord.) And because my iPhone charges while in StandBy mode, I always have lots of power when my iPhone leaves StandBy mode.

Before StandBy mode, I’ve never found MagSafe charging to be all that useful to me. After all, I can charge more quickly using a cord. But with StandBy mode, I’m now using MagSafe charging every single day. MagSafe and StandBy mode were made for each other.

In addition to putting my iPhone in StandBy mode when I am using my work computer or my home computer, I also like to put it in StandBy mode on my nightstand when I go to sleep at night. This basically turns my iPhone into an alarm clock, with a big display of the time that is easy to see. Assuming that you have Night Mode turned on for StandBy in the Settings app (which is the default), when your iPhone senses that it is dark, the standby display changes to a red tint so that it is not invasive while you are sleeping.

When your iPhone is in this Night Mode version of StandBy mode, the screen will turn off after about 15 minutes even if you have an iPhone that supports always on mode. However, if your iPhone senses any motion, the display will turn on again. Thus, if you want to see the time in the middle of the night, you can just sort of wave your hand in the general area of the iPhone to see the clock (or whatever else you are displaying in StandBy mode).

If you are using an iPhone that does not support always on mode, you can still use StandBy. Once your iPhone has gone to sleep and the display has turned black, you can make the display come on again by tapping the screen, gently nudging the table your iPhone is on, or using Siri. It is nice to have a workaround, but it means that you cannot simply glance at the screen to see information, which is one of the best parts of StandBy mode.

StandBy is better with a stand

You don’t need to have a special stand to use StandBy mode. Just charge your iPhone and place it in a steady location on its side. But StandBy mode works much better if you have a dedicated stand with MagSafe charging. That way, the iPhone stays even more steady and is less likely to exit StandBy mode by mistake. Plus, MagSafe means that you can easily pick up your iPhone without having to unplug a cord.

There are many different MagSafe iPhone stands available now, and I suspect that even more will become available as more people start to use StandBy mode. Some stands only charge the iPhone. Others give you the ability to charge one or two other devices as well.

I’ve been researching the best stands for months, and just recently, I picked out two of them that I think are fantastic: (1) the Anker 3-in-1 Cube with MagSafe, which is $149.95 on Amazon and (2) the Twelve South HiRise 3 Deluxe, which is on pre-order for $149.99 but is starting to ship now. $150 may sound expensive, but with either of these devices, you get a product that charges three different products at the same time using the fastest charging speeds that are supported by Apple, and you only have a single cord coming out of the device—not three cords, like some other 3-in-1 chargers. Thus, consider that you are getting three top-notch chargers for the price of one when you think about the price. Both stands support landscape mode for StandBy or portrait mode.

As noted above, at my desk in my office, the best place for me to use my iPhone in SandBy mode is the small area between my keyboard and my monitor. After reading many other reviews and comments, it seems that one of the best, if not the best, small device that charges multiple devices is the Anker 3-in-1 Cube with MagSafe. It supports the fastest form of MagSafe charging supported by Apple (15W), plus it has a normal Qi charging area where you can charge AirPods or Airpods Pro (or anything else that supports Qi wireless charging), plus it supports Apple certified fast charging for an Apple Watch.

True to its name, when folded up, it is a cube:

Fold open the top and you can place your iPhone on the MagSafe charger at an angle (which you can adjust), which makes it easier to see your iPhone in StandBy mode.

If you want to charge your Apple Watch, pop out the drawer on the right side.

When the top of the cube is open, you can see a Qi charger on the back. There is also a USB-C connector hole on the back, which is how you charge the unit. It comes with a USB-C to USB-C charging cord and a USB-C power adapter.

What I love about the Cube is that it is small and compact. Thus, when my iPhone is connected to it, it fits above my keyboard and below my monitor.

The small size means that the Anker 3-in-1 Cube with MagSafe is also a good travel charger. It gives you a single device in your hotel room to charge your iPhone, Airpods, and Apple Watch. One downside of this product is that when you are using all three chargers, everything is sort of on top of each other because it is so compact.

Another downside of this product is that when you are charging AirPods, because they sit behind the MagSafe platform, they are somewhat hidden. There have been a few times when I walked away from my office desk at the end of the day to go home only to realize that I forgot to pick up my AirPods.

Overall, I’m incredibly happy using the the Anker 3-in-1 Cube with MagSafe as my office stand.

Another perfect place for using StandBy mode is a nightstand next to your bed. For my nightstand, I didn’t need something compact that fits in in a small area beneath a monitor, so I could select a stand that spaces things out a little bit more. After months of research, the one that I was hearing the best things about was the relatively new Twelve South HiRise 3 Deluxe, which is an update to prior HiRise stands. After using this device myself, I can confirm that it is excellent.

The stand is black with a vegan leather-wrapped base that feels substantial and nice. Your iPhone charges on a 15W MagSafe Charger atop an aluminum post, and you can adjust the tilt up to 30º.

You can charge your Apple Watch on a flat charger, or you can fold up the charger so that your Apple Watch can take advantage of Night Stand mode.

The back of the stand has a Qi-certified 7.5W wireless charger for AirPods, a second phone, or anything else that supports Qi charging.

The single cord that runs out of the Twelve South HiRise 3 Deluxe is not USB-C but instead a different type of cord, so you have to use the cord that comes with this device. Twelve South says that they did this on purpose; the stand needs 40 watts of power to simultaneously charge all of your devices as fast as possible, and the company was afraid that if it used a normal USB-C cord, some people might use an under-powered charger. The cord that it comes with is more than long enough for me at 59" / 1.5m. The box comes with international adapters for the power supply, so in addition to North America, you can also use it in the UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, Continental Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan.

I love that I can have a fast MagSafe charge and the fastest possible Apple Watch charge on my nightstand. I also love that this is a perfect stand to hold my devices when I go to sleep, and then they are right there waiting for me when I wake up. When the lights are off in my bedroom, StandBy mode switches to the red tint I mentioned above, and it is a fantastic tint—dim enough that it doesn’t keep me awake, but just barely bright enough that I have no trouble seeing the big numbers to see what time it is any time that I glance at it before my alarm goes off in the morning.

Conclusion

With StandBy mode and one or more good stands, your iPhone becomes useful to you 24/7, even when you are not actively using it. The StandBy display is easy to see from a distance, and because you control what appears on it, the information displayed is the information that you have already decided is most relevant to you. There are already lots of great apps that support StandBy mode, and I’m sure that there will be even more in the future. Apple deserves high praise for coming up with this fantastic new feature in iOS 17. If you haven’t started using it yet, I encourage you to check out StandBy mode.

Once you start using StandBy mode, you will realize that it works even better with a MagSafe stand. The two stands that I purchased—the Anker 3-in-1 Cube with MagSafe, which is $149.95 on Amazon and the Twelve South HiRise 3 Deluxe, which is on pre-order for $149.99—are excellent and I give them both high recommendations.

If you are in the United States, your iPhone is going to make a very loud noise tomorrow, Wednesday, October 4, 2023, at approximately 2:20 p.m. Eastern / 11:20 a.m. Pacific. If you are an attorney and you will be in court, a deposition, or any other official proceeding at that time, and if it would be obnoxious for your iPhone to play that noise at that time, consider turning off your iPhone before that time or putting your device in Airplane Mode.

Why is this happening? Every once in a while, the federal government tests its Wireless Emergency Alerts system, which is the cellphone version of the Emergency Alert System-style warnings that you have seen and heard for a long time on television and radio when there is a weather or other emergency. If your iPhone is turned on and connected to a cell tower in the United States, then you will receive the test alert tomorrow. Two years ago, I wrote a full post that explains the Wireless Emergency Alerts system, so click that link if you want more information about what is going to happen to your iPhone and the smartphones around you tomorrow. You can also learn more from this page on the FCC’s website.

[UPDATE 10/4/2023: In my office, the alert came early, at 1:18 p.m. Central.]

I’ve been using an iPhone 15 Pro Max for a week now, so Brett Burney and I start this week’s episode of the In the News podcast by discussing the features that have stood out to me. I’ve also been using Apple’s FineWoven case for a week, and we discuss why so many people are upset about that case as a replacement for Apple’s former leather case. We also talk about iPhone photography, iOS 17 tips, the newest AirPods Pro, using your iPhone as a digital driver’s license, using the iPad mini on an airplane, the bittersweet end of red envelopes from Netflix, and more.

This episode is sponsored by SaneBox. This week, Brett and I explain the different plans that are offered and provide advice on picking the plan that makes the most sense for you. Go to sanebox.com/inthenews to sign up for a free trial and get a $25 credit toward a SaneBox subscription.

In our In the Know segment, Brett discusses adding widgets to the home screen of your iPad, and I discuss using the new mini-window on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max when you use extreme digital zoom in the camera app.

Click here to listen to the audio podcast, or just listen using your podcast player of choice.  You can also watch the episode on YouTube:

Although I have heard a lot of praise for Apple this week as people start to try out the new iPhones (here is my review of the iPhone 15 Pro Max), another new Apple product has received wide criticism: Apple’s new FineWoven Case, which replaces Apple’s previous leather case which sold for the same price ($59.99). I’ve always been a fan of Apple’s leather iPhone cases. They fit the iPhone perfectly (something that always makes me nervous about a third-party case that is available to purchase when a new iPhone comes out), they felt good, and they protected the iPhone while making it less slippery. As Apple has eliminated all leather products for environmental reasons, they came up with a new FineWoven case. Arthur Shi of iFixIt took a very close look at the case (using extreme magnification) to see how it is made, which is somewhat impressive. But people are not happy about how it feels in the hand, as noted by Allison Johnson of The Verge, with some people comparing it to paper. There are also build quality issues, as noted by Stephen Hackett of 512 Pixels. I’ve been using a FineWoven case for the past week, and while I don’t hate it as much as many people, I do greatly prefer the feel and look of the leather case. Perhaps if Apple was selling this new case for less than the $60 price of the leather case it wouldn’t bother me as much. If your default every year is to buy the Apple case but you haven’t yet purchased a case for the newest iPhones, I strongly encourage you to check out the FineWoven case at an Apple Store before you buy it because you might not like it. And now, the news of note from the past week:

• I have a big ask of you, but it is also an easy one. With September about to end, we are at the end of this year’s campaign to raise money for St. Jude. It would mean a lot to me if you donated any amount to help kids with cancer, and it would obviously mean a lot to so many others as well. I promise you that the entire process will take no more than 30 seconds of your time. Just click, enter your donation amount, and pay. It’s a great cause. Simply click here and donate any amount. Thanks!
• Brian Heater of TechCrunch interviews Eric Treski and Ron Huang of Apple to discuss the new AirPods Pro with a USB-C case.
• If you have an iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max, you can assign one action to the Action Button. Or, you can use this clever shortcut from Federico Viticci of MacStories to assign two shortcuts to the same Action Button.
• If you want to listen to a great discussion of photography with the new iPhones, this week’s episode of John Gruber’s The Talk Show features guest Matthew Panzarino, and it is a fantastic episode. For example, John Gruber points out that with a traditional camera, you can take an amazing picture, but you need to be the photographer. You need to adjust everything—and know how to do so—to get that perfect picture. “What really jumped out buying a new, well-regarded, camera this year is how many decisions the iPhone makes automatically that are what I want it to do, without me doing anything.” The iPhone becomes the expert photographer, using its sophisticated processor to make everything look great. You just choose what to put in frame and when to press the button.
• Jason Snell of Six Colors updated his great ebook Take Control of Photos. The book teaches you everything that you need to know about using the Photos app on an iPhone, iPad, and Mac, and it is updated for iOS 17 and the other new operating systems. And next week, he will add a free update to address new features added by the iPhone 15. It’s a great resource that I recommend to anyone who wants to do more with the Photos app.
• Justin Meyers of Gadget Hacks shares tips for using the Camera app in iOS 17.
• Nelson Aguilar of CNet recommends 17 obscure features in iOS 17.
• Zac Hall has an updated post on states in which you can use your iPhone as a replacement for your driver’s license, either using Apple’s own Wallet ID system or another system used by a state.
• John Voorhees of MacStories recommends using an iPad mini and a Bluetooth keyboard on a plane.
• Rikka Altland of 9to5Toys reviews the Anker Nano USB-C Power Bank, which looks like a great external battery for an iPhone 15 user because it has a built-in USB-C cable. It is $49.99 on Amazon.
• D. Griffin Jones of Cut of Mac reviews the Apple Watch Series 9.
• We may now live in a world of streaming media, but I fondly remember the excitement of coming home at the end of the week to find a Netflix red envelope in my mailbox. Nicole Sperling of the New York Times reports that today is the last day that Netflix is shipping out any DVDs. My son is only 17 years old, but when I mentioned this to him, he told me that he distinctly remembers being a little kid and having the same excitement when he saw a red envelope—which he would always hope was a kids movie that we could enjoy as a family and not some grown-up movie that was just for me and my wife. It’s the end of an era.
• If you are stuck in the middle of nowhere and need help with your car, you can use Roadside Assistance via Satellite with an iPhone 14 or 15. This video from Apple gives you an idea of how it works. I certainly hope that I never need to use this service, but it is nice to know that this lifesaver is available if I ever need it.
• And finally, yesterday I saw the new trailer for the movie Argylle, which comes to theaters in February and then to Apple TV+. I suppose you would call this a spy movie with a twist. The cast is fantastic, and if the movie lives up to the promise of the trailer, this will be great fun to watch in a few months:

I received my iPhone 15 Pro Max this past Friday. And I know exactly when it was first in my hands because that occurred at the 22:30 mark (the beginning of Chapter 4) as I was recording the most recent episode of the In the News podcast. Since then, I’ve been using this new iPhone extensively. I love it, and I have lots of thoughts to share.

Titanium

Nine years ago, when Apple introduced the iPhone 6 models, it increased the size of the display in two ways. First, the iPhone 6 itself was larger than the iPhone 5s because it used a 4.7" display instead of a 4" display. Second, Apple introduced the iPhone 6 Plus with a 5.5" display—the first time a larger model became an option. Some people gravitated to the larger models instantly, but many (perhaps even most?) folks preferred the standard size, even though what constitutes the standard size has changed quite a bit over the years. The original iPhone released in 2007 had a 3.5" display; the “standard” size of the iPhone 15 Pro is 6.1". Of course, screen size doesn’t tell you everything about the size of an iPhone. The bezels are much smaller today than they were in 2007, and there is no longer a button occupying some of the face of the iPhone. Nevertheless, the trend has been towards larger screens. For nine years, I have been happy with the “standard” size, even as that standard has changed over time.

This year, Apple has made it easier to consider making the move to a larger iPhone because the case has changed from stainless steel to titanium. Titanium is much lighter while remaining very strong.

I can attest that the change makes a difference. As you can see in the podcast video that I referenced above, from the very first time that I put my iPhone 14 Pro in one hand and my iPhone 15 Pro Max in another hand, I have noticed that the iPhone 15 Pro Max feels lighter. I can switch hands, and I feel the same thing. When I spent time this past weekend taking pictures with both the iPhone 14 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro Max to see the difference between the former 3x zoom lens and the new 5x zoom lens, I again noticed the same thing.

I realize that I am being tricked. Apple says that the iPhone 14 Pro weighs 7.27 ounces and the iPhone 15 Pro Max weighs 7.81 ounces. So in reality, this larger iPhone 15 Pro Max weighs about half an ounce more than the phone that I used for the last year. But because the small amount of extra weight is distributed across a larger area, it doesn’t actually feel heavier. The only reason that this illusion works is that there is only a small amount of additional weight, and that is thanks to the use of titanium. Last year’s iPhone 14 Pro Max model weighed 8.47 ounces, so I’m sure that the iPhone 15 Pro Max would have weighed at least that much if Apple was still using stainless steel.

For me, someone moving from the standard to a larger phone, the use of titanium means that I don’t need to worry about moving to a heavier phone. If you get a new iPhone 15 Pro model and you stay with the same size—going from an iPhone 14 Pro to an iPhone 15 Pro, or going from an iPhone 14 Pro Max to an iPhone 15 Pro Max—your new iPhone will weigh noticeably less than your prior model, which is also something you will appreciate.

The best part about using titanium is the weight difference, but that’s not the only difference. The titanium iPhone has a matte finish that is noticeably different from the shiny stainless steel used in the past on the Pro models. That makes it just a tiny bit less slippery, although to be honest, not as much as I had hoped.

Another change that may have more to do with how Apple designed the iPhone than the change in material is that the edges of the iPhone 15 models are slightly more rounded at the corners. It is a subtle but nice change that makes the newest iPhone even more comfortable to hold in a hand.

Moving to titanium was a fabulous change in the Pro line, and it is a major reason that you feel like you are getting something much better when you upgrade to an iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max. I have already seen many advertisements on TV for the iPhone 15 Pro / Pro Max that emphasize the move to titanium, and this is not just marketing hype. It makes a difference.

A zoom that makes a substantial difference

Speaking of changes that make a difference, let’s talk about the 5x zoom lens on the iPhone 15 Pro Max. While I have been curious about using a larger size iPhone for years, the reason I made the leap this year was to try out the 5x optical zoom lens, the largest optical zoom that Apple has ever offered. It is really nice, and it is the first iPhone zoom lens that I feel has really made a substantial difference. This feels like a real zoom lens, not just getting a little closer to change the emphasis.

Apple first introduced a zoom lens for the iPhone in 2016. On the larger Plus model of the iPhone 7, Apple added a second lens to add a 2x optical zoom lens (56 mm). The following year, the telephoto lens was included with the iPhone X and Apple even added optical image stabilization so that pictures taken with the zoom lens would be less blurry. The zoom lens increased to 2.5x on the iPhone 12 Pro Max in 2020, and the zoom lens increased to 3x on the iPhone 13 Pro in 2021. 

Having different levels of zoom is often useful because it allows you to place an emphasis on different parts of the picture to make the picture tell a different story. I showed that off in this post from 2019 when I compared the 0.5x, 1x, and 2x lenses on the iPhone 11 Pro. The addition of the 3x zoom enhanced this even more, allowing you to get closer without the excessive blurriness that occurs when you simply crop a photo.

With 5x, however, the zoom is extreme enough that you feel like you are getting a completely different type of picture. It is especially useful when you want to get details that you could not otherwise see.

For example, as I was looking out of my office window this past Friday, I saw a tugboat pushing a barge on the Mississippi River. I took three pictures using the 1x, 2x, and 5x lenses and got these three pictures (which are compressed somewhat to make them smaller in this p0st):

When I look at just the tugboat in all three pictures, the first two pictures are very blurry, with 2x only slightly better. But with the 5x camera, I can actually read the words “Marquette Transportation” on the side of the boat.

That is the sort of difference that you expect with something called a “zoom” lens. You want to zoom in and see details.

Here is another interesting example: a picture of a French Quarter-style gas lamp taken with the iPhone 15 Pro Max in 1x. This picture is compressed for size:

That was about as close as I could get to the lamp without standing on a ladder, but I can get closer using different lenses. I took four pictures: the iPhone 15 Pro Max at 1x and 2x, the iPhone 14 Pro at 3x, and the iPhone 15 Pro Max at 5x, focusing each one on the small nameplate at the bottom of the lamp. Here are the results:

Thanks to the additional zoom of the 5x, I can see that this lamp was manufactured by Bevolo Gas & Electric Lights, the company that first invented the original French Quarter-style gas lamp and that still makes them using hand-riveted copper at their store in the French Quarter in New Orleans. What is interesting to me, though, is that the second most detailed image is not the 3x but instead the 1x. Why is that?

When the new iPhone 15 Pro Max takes pictures using the 1x lens, it takes a 24-megapixel picture using a series of pictures taken in rapid succession using the 48-megapixel lens and then merges them to create the best picture. With the 2x lens, Apple creates a 24-megapixel picture using just the center portion of the 48-megapixel lens, and while it does some additional processing, not as much as the 1x lens (because Apple doesn’t want you to have to wait before you can take another picture). With the 3x and 5x lens, the lens brings you closer, but the quality of the overall picture is less for numerous reasons, one of which is that it is only a 12-megapixel image. What this means is that you will typically see the best results with the 1x camera. If you want to get closer, the best option—when you can—is to move your iPhone even closer and stick with 1x. If that is not an option, using the 2x and 3x lens will sometimes result in a better picture with more details, but not always. With the 5x lens, however, there is enough of a zoom increase that the lens can often compensate for other factors such as the 1x camera being an overall better lens.

Here is another example that provides results that are more expected. While I was in a well-lit coffeehouse this weekend, I saw a display with some books on it. Here is what I saw using the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s 1x camera:

Now let’s zoom in to the back of that blue book, which happens to be the The Little Book of King Cake by Matt Haines (Author) and Aileen Bennett (Illustrator). The words are not really much easier to read as you go from 1x to 2x. But at 3x, you can read the text, and with 5x, the text is even more sharp.

These are only three examples, but I took tons of pictures with both iPhones this weekend, and the results were pretty consistent. For the best picture, use the 1x lens, which you get with either the iPhone 15 Pro or the iPhone 15 Pro Max. But if you want to really zoom in to see some details, there is a substantial difference between the 3x zoom and the 5x zoom.

I should note that the 5x lens is only part of the story. Apple is also using sophisticated stabilization technology to limit how much the 5x lens moves so that you don’t get a useless, blurry picture. And there is also some amazing computational photography going on in the background as well. The net result is that the 5x camera is a great tool to have.

For those times in life when you want a zoom lens, you typically want a big zoom. You are not just looking to change the composition of your shot; you are trying to get substantially closer. You want to see an architectural detail. You want to see your child’s face on stage from the audience or from across the gym during a basketball game. You want to read something on a sign that is far away. With the 5x lens, you get a substantial zoom that makes a difference. It is a great new feature.

Portrait mode, anytime

A camera improvement for all four of the new iPhone 15 models is that you no longer have to select Portrait Mode before you take a picture to achieve a blurred background, the bokeh effect. Now, just take a picture in the normal camera mode. After you take the picture, tap the Edit button in the Photos app. If the iPhone sees a person or a pet, the iPhone will let you blur the background using the depth information that was captured automatically.

I love this change. In the past, it was always difficult to decide before I took a picture which mode I would want to use, which often resulted in me taking the picture twice, once in each mode. Now, I can make all of those decisions later when I am reviewing and editing my pictures.

By the way, this effect also seems to be better than ever, presumably because of the improved A17 Pro processor, even in difficult areas like the edges of curly hair.

USB-C

Another major change for all of the iPhone 15 phones is the use of USB-C instead of Lightning. When you first get one of these phones, it means that you need to change some cords. I forgot to change the cord in my car, so when I got into my car on Friday afternoon and tried to use CarPlay, I realized that I needed a different cord (USB to USB-C) that I didn’t have with me.

But once I got past these initial hiccups, I appreciated moving even closer to the day when all of my devices use the same connector.

Also, for the times when you need to transfer video to and from a computer, the support for USB-C 3 with 10Gbit per second speed is nice and makes a big difference.

Action button

This year, Apple replaced the ringer switch with an Action Button. When you hold down on the button, an action happens. That action can be turning the ringer on or off if you want. But it can also do just about anything else.

For now, I have the Action Button configured to launch the Camera app. This was especially nice this past weekend when I took lots of pictures to try out the improved camera. Regardless of whether my iPhone was locked or in use, and no matter what it was doing, all I had to do is press that button to launch the Camera. And then in the Camera app, I could press that same button to take a picture.

In the future, I may try associating the Action Button with a sophisticated Shortcut, perhaps even one that does different things at different times of the day. But for now, I’m happy with it launching the Camera.

One small surprise: although the Action Button is the same size as the switch that it replaces, I’m used to the larger volume and power buttons on the iPhone. As a result, the Action Button seems too small. I’m sure that is something that I will get more used to over time.

Larger screen

I know that other folks have been using a larger iPhone for many, many years, but it is a new experience for me. I’ll need to spend far more than a single weekend with this new phone to really see what I really think. So far, however, I like it. Yes, holding a larger phone in my hand is a different experience, but it isn’t uncomfortable, especially thanks to the new softer edge. And when I am looking at the screen, the extra real estate is a valuable. I started in the default mode, where I could see more on the screen at one time, such as an extra row when looking my Inbox in the Mail app. Then I switched to the Larger Text Display Mode zoom in Settings, which means that I see essentially the same amount on the screen as with my iPhone 14 Pro but everything is bigger, so I don’t have to hold the iPhone quite so close to my face to see it. I’m not yet sure which mode I will stick with, but it is the larger screen that makes them both possible.

Of course, a larger iPhone screen is no match for an iPad. But when all that you have with you is your iPhone, it can be nice for that iPhone to have a larger screen. For example, this weekend I did not only the Saturday but even the Sunday New York Times crossword puzzle (with my wife’s help!) on my iPhone, and the larger screen made a big difference in making the small boxes legible.

When I am wearing a button-down shirt, I virtually always carry my iPhone in a shirt pocket. I feared that the larger iPhone would be too big for that, but so far, that doesn’t appear to be a problem.

I told myself that if this larger iPhone seemed wrong for me, I would return it and replace it with an iPhone 15 Pro during the first two weeks when returns are easy. I’ve already decided not to do that because my initial impressions are mostly positive. The real test will come this time next year when I make the decision on whether to stick with a Max size for what I imagine will be called the iPhone 16. But for now … so far, so good.

Conclusion

The iPhone 15 Pro Max is a great new iPhone. With the titanium finish, new design, 5x lens, Action Button, better portrait mode, and USB-C, there are plenty of meaningful changes that make this year’s model seem like a real step up. And if you haven’t tried a larger iPhone size in the past but you are curious about doing so, this is the best year ever to make that transition.

We just finished a huge week of Apple hardware and software releases, which means that we are no longer just thinking about upcoming new features—we are now actually using the new software and hardware. As a result, Brett Burney I had lot of interesting things to discuss on this week’s episode of the In the News Podcast. We started by discussing some of the best new features of iOS 17 and the other new software releases. Next, we discuss the new iPhone 15 models, and the timing of this discussion in the episode could not have been better because my new iPhone 15 Pro Max arrived just as we were beginning that discussion. As a result, if you watch the version of this week’s episode on YouTube, you can see one of the few live unboxing videos that was in no way pre-planned! We also talk about our initial thoughts on the new features added to the AirPods Pro, as well as other recent changes to Apple products like the HomePod and Apple TV.

This episode is sponsored by SaneBox, and Brett and I both explained why the @SaneNews folder makes such a dramatic difference when you are reading your emails because everything is pre-sorted. Imagine having an assistant pre-sort your physical mail so that you can go through it more efficiently; that is the idea. Go to sanebox.com/inthenews to sign up for a free trial and get a $25 credit toward a SaneBox subscription.

In our In the Know segment, Brett identifies some of the great new features in Safari in iOS 17 and iPadOS 17. I describe the level indicator in the Camera app in iOS 17 and how it makes it so incredibly easy to take perfectly level photos.

Click here to listen to the audio podcast, or just listen using your podcast player of choice.  You can also watch the episode on YouTube:

I hope that you are enjoying what should be called Apple Week 2023. We started the week with major updates to the operating system and apps on the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. The Air Pads Pro, Apple TV, and HomePods also saw updates—for example, I can now talk to my HomePod mini by just saying “Siri …” instead of “Hey Siri, …” The initial reviews were posted on websites and on YouTube of the new versions of the iPhone and iPhone Pro, the new Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Ultra 2, and new AirPods Pro. And people who pre-ordered those new devices early enough will have them in their hands today. My brand new iPhone Pro Max started in China this past Sunday, was in South Korea on Tuesday, came through Anchorage to arrive in Louisville on Wednesday, made it to Jackson, Mississippi on Thursday night, and finally should arrive in New Orleans and be in my hands at some point today. From hardware to software from Apple plus all of the third parties who are updating their accessories and apps to take advantage of the new features, it is all a bit overwhelming at the moment. With that in mind, and with full knowledge that I am skipping over lots of important details from this past week, here is just some of the news of note from the past week:

• Not only did we get a software update on Monday, but we also got another one on Thursday. As noted by Michael Potuck on 9to5Mac, iOS 17.0.1 applies three security patches. If you haven’t updated to iOS 17 yet, Apple also released iOS 16.7 this week to apply similar patches. Potuck notes that if you apply the patch to your current iPhone and then receive a new iPhone 15 or 15 Pro, you’ll have to update the new device to iOS 17.0.1 before you can restore from a backup of your old iPhone. I do not know (yet) if this is something that needs to be done manually or if the new iPhone will walk you through this step as a part of the migration software.
• The big new feature of the iPhone 15 Pro Max is the new 5x optical zoom lens. Why didn’t Apple opt for a 10x zoom, which you can get on the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra? In an interview with Nicolas Lellouche of the French publication Numerama, Apple’s VP of camera software engineering Jon McCormack explains that you get poor results with a 10x zoom unless you use a tripod to keep the phone perfectly steady, but with a 5x zoom and Apple’s new stabilization method (an autofocus 3D sensor-shift module), Apple can keep the lens steady enough to get good results. If you don’t parlez the Français, Joe Rossignol of MacRumors describes the article.
• Jaron Schneider of the photography website PetaPixel also interviewed McCormack to discuss the camera system on the new iPhones. It’s a great interview. For example, McCormack says that while you can put your new iPhone in a mode to always take 48-megapixel photos—which you might think would be best to get more details—you are typically better off leaving it in the default 24-megapixel mode to get more dynamic range. McCormack explained: “Because when shooting at 24-megapixels, we shoot 12 high and 12 low—we actually shoot multiple of those—and we pick and then merge. There is, basically, a bigger bracket between the 12 high and the 12 low. Then, the 48 is an ‘extended dynamic range,’ versus ‘high dynamic range,’ which basically just limits the amount of processing. Because just in the little bit of processing time available [in the 24 megapixel] we can get a bit more dynamic range into Deep Fusion. So what you end up with in the 24, it’s a bit of a ‘Goldilocks moment’ of you get all of the extra dynamic range that comes from the 12 and the detail transfer that comes in from the 48.”
• Chris Niccolls of PetaPixel reviews the new iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max from the standpoint of a professional photographer.
• Other than that PetaPixel review from a photographer’s perspective, I wasn’t as impressed by the reviews of the new iPhone 15 models this year as I have been in past years. However, another exception is that I found John Gruber’s review to be excellent, so read that one if you want to learn more about these new models.
• Jason Snell of Six Colors received a review unit of the iPhone 15 Pro Max on Thursday. He posted three pictures yesterday on Mastodon to compare the 1x, 2x, and 5x cameras, and you can see that the 5x camera results in a very different picture. He predicts that the 5x lens “is gonna be GREAT for zooming in to read far away text” (as his pictures demonstrate) and notes that “the image stabilization is for real.”
• Jennifer Pattison Tuohy of The Verge speculates on why there is a Thread radio in the new iPhone 15 devices.
• William Gallagher of AppleInsider notes that Apple CEO Tim Cook prefers the Natural Titanium color for his new iPhone 15 Pro Max. I’ve heard lots of other people say this week that they prefer this color too. I see that if you try to order a new iPhone 15 Pro Max right now, the Black Titanium and Blue Titanium are available on October 20, but the Natural Titanium and White Titanium are not available until November 10.
• Jason Cross of Macworld notes that if you want the battery in your iPhone 15 or iPhone 15 Pro to last as long as possible, there is a new setting that will stop the iPhone from charging when it hits 80%. All batteries degrade over time and thus hold less charge, but you can reduce this if you stop charging at 80%. He also notes: “Users like me who work at a desk with ready access to a charger and rarely drop below 40 percent on a typical day would be better off setting a hard charge limit of 80 percent, as long as they remember to turn it off on those days when they’re likely to have a heavy-use day away from the charger.” Interesting advice.
• John Gruber reviews the new USB-C version of the AirPods Pro and the new update to all models of the AirPods Pro. One new feature is Conversation Awareness. If you are listening to something and then you start talking, the music lowers the volume of what you are listening to, enhances the voice in front of you, and reduces background noise. I was listening to my AirPods Pro in the elevator this week when someone started talking to me and I was surprised (and delighted) to see this feature work so well. I’ve heard reports of others having trouble in certain situations—such as chatter around you in a supermarket being mistaken for a conversation in which you are participating—but for now, I like this new feature. The other new feature is a third listening mode called Adaptive Audio Mode, which is sort of a better version of Transparency Mode: you can hear the world around you as you listen to something, but there is a small amount of noise cancellation so that the outside world is a little less distracting.
• With a new USB-C version of the AirPods Pro, what about other great iPhone accessories that should be updated from Lightning to USB-C such as the MagSafe Battery Pack? You can no longer buy the Lightning version of this fantastic device from Apple, but you can currently get it on Amazon for only $85. And because you can charge this battery pack by attaching it to an iPhone 15 and then plugging the iPhone in using a USB-C cord, you can still use this device with the latest iPhone. But John Gruber of Daring Fireball notes that when Apple first announced the product, they did so after waiting about two months after a new iPhone introduction, presumably to avoid any speculation that Apple thought that battery life was so poor that you needed a battery pack. Perhaps Apple will do the same thing this year: announce a USB-C version of the MagSafe Battery Pack in November. We’ll see.
• Jason Snell of Six Colors wrote an excellent review of iOS 17. There is also a good companion article by Snell and Dan Moren that describes new features added to multiple platforms this week, not just the iPhone.
• Zachary McAuliffe of CNet describes his favorite new features in iOS 17 including StandBy, improvements to the Messages app, and more. One interesting new feature that he mentions: when you get a text message or an email with a two-factor verification code, your device can now automatically delete those messages after you get the number. Bravo.
• Dan Moren of Six Colors notes three new Apple features that he would be “lost” without (ahem): the ability to download Offline Maps in iOS 17 so that you can use a map even without a cellular connection, improved walking directions in watchOS 10, and the ability to locate a lost Apple TV remote using iOS 17 and tvOS 17.
• Griffin Jones of Cult of Mac identifies 50 iOS 17 features that you should know about.
• Apple updated its productivity apps—Pages, Keynote, and Numbers—with new features this week to work better with iOS 17 and iPadOS 17. For example, you can now work with 3D objects in USDZ format in all three apps. Zac Hall of 9to5Mac has details.
• Adam Engst of TidBITS reports on a new free app from Sebastiaan de With called Orion that turns your iPad into an HDMI monitor. If you are traveling with a Windows laptop, I presume that you could use this to turn an iPad into a second external monitor, which I could see being useful. (If you have Mac, you can already use built-in features in MacOS to extend the Mac’s screen to the iPad.)
• When you install the new watchOS 10 on your Apple Watch you will see a new Snoopy watch face. I’ve been using it all this week, and it is delightful. Every time I look at my wrist, I see a very short (about five seconds) animation featuring Snoopy and sometimes Woodstock, and there are tons of different animations: apparently well over a hundred. Robert Leedham of GQ interviews Paige Braddock, the chief creative officer at Charles M Schulz Creative Associates who worked with Apple to create this new watch face.
• Sam Schube of GQ posted an interesting article based on a long interview with Apple VP Eddy Cue to discuss Apple TV+ and sports.
• Andrew Cunningham of Ars Technica reports that tvOS 17 adds an extra column of icons to the Apple TV.
• Juli Clover of MacRumors explains what is new in the HomePod software version 17.
• If you are running out of space on iCloud, Stephen Hackett of 512 Pixels notes that the 2 TB plan for $9.99/month is non longer the top plan, You can now also opt to pay $29.99/month for 6 TB or $59.99/month for 12 TB.
• The Steve Jobs Archive announced a new fellowship program and named the nine 2023 SJA Fellows. These are young, talented people who want to spend a year creating something at the intersection of technology and liberal arts. Each fellow receives a stipend, resources, and tools (I’m sure lots of Apple technology) to help them create something amazing over the next year. What a great idea, and a great way to honor the legacy of Steve Jobs.
• When Apple shows off the latest version of the Messages app every year, there are fake text messages showing conversations between fake people. I’m sure that most folks don’t even pay attention to the words because they are essentially there for Lorem Ipsum reasons. But Max Read took the opposite approach, studying and analyzing the patterns in the fake messages over the years, and the result is this fantastic article: A literary history of fake texts in Apple’s marketing materials. Well done. And also, a shout out to John Bishop, whoever you are.
• And finally, this fun and informative video from Apple provides you with a Guided Tour of the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro:

Yesterday, Apple released major software updates for many of its products, including iOS 17 for the iPhone, iPadOS 17 for the iPad, and watchOS 10 for the Apple Watch. These updates add a large number of new features for all of these products. In some cases, they also change the way that the products work, so you may have to retrain your muscle memories. The changes on the Apple Watch, for example, are fairly substantial because every button now does something brand new. Thus, while I know that you will eventually want to upgrade, this might be an upgrade to postpone for a few days until you are ready to start adapting to changes.

I provided a preview of the new features when the first beta versions were announced a few months ago. We now have interactive widgets, the new StandBy mode on the iPhone, you can drop the “Hey” in “Hey Siri” if you want, autocorrect is better than ever, and there are countless other improvements. If you want an exhaustive look at everything that is new for the iPhone and iPad, Federico Viticci of MacStories posted his annual comprehensive review.

I just updated my devices and I haven’t had much chance to dig into everything, but I look forward to doing so in the coming days and weeks. I promise you that when I find features that really stand out to me, I’ll mention them here and on the In the News podcast.

Brett and I released what may be the biggest and best episode of the In the News podcast that we have ever published! I say biggest because we went over an hour, which is unusual for us. And it may be the best because there were so many interesting topics to discuss and analyze due to all of the Apple announcements from the past week. We start by going deep on the new versions of the iPhone and Apple Watch, Apple’s transition from USB-C to Lightning across its product line (not just in the new iPhones), and Apple’s move from leather to FineWoven in watch bands and cases. We also discuss the upcoming Qi2 standard that is apparently supported by the iPhone 15, the new version of the AirPods Pro that Apple (strangely) wants to pretend is not new, and much more.

In this week’s Where Y’at segment, we talk about butt dialing the Emergency SOS via Satellite service.

In our In the Know segment, Brett and I share two additional highlights from this week: one for the Apple Watch Ultra, and one for the iPhone.

Click here to listen to the audio podcast, or just listen using your podcast player of choice.  You can also watch the episode on YouTube:

We are finishing up one of the biggest weeks of the year in the Apple world: the introduction of the newest iPhone models. The iPhones have been out long enough that it is no longer realistic to expect dramatic improvements every year, but when Apple adds a few hardware features that improve the iPhone experience and you add to that the yearly update of the iPhone operating system, the end result is yet another nice year-over-year step forward. Apple starts taking orders for the new iPhones today, and new Apple Watch orders started a few days ago. The new products should be in our hands starting one week from today. It’s an exciting time, especially if you ordered something for yourself. And now, the news of note from the past week:

• If you are spending some money on a new Apple device, I encourage you to share the love and also make a donation to help those with childhood cancer. Simply click here and donate any amount. Those of you who donated already are awesome. For everyone else, just click that link, and I promise it won’t take more than a minute of your time to do something that will make a tremendous difference. Thanks so much!
• Let’s start with some of the iPhone news from this week. Jason Snell of Six Colors was at the announcement, so he had a chance to try out the new models, and he offers lots of interesting thoughts on what is new. He also notes that the colors on the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus models are very pale.
• The new iPhone 15 models use USB-C instead of Lightning. That means that you have many more charging options. However, Brian X. Chen of the New York Times warns that you should not get the very cheapest items, such as USB-C cables that cost only $5, because they will not be very good quality and could, in extreme cases, even damage the iPhone.
• Stephen Shankland of CNet offers advice in selecting a USB-C cable.
• Apple used to sell the MagSafe Duo and MagSafe Battery Pack, two devices that charge via Lightning. Rather than come out with new USB-C versions this week, Benjamin Mayo of 9to5Mac reports that it looks like Apple has discontinued both devices. That’s a shame because I love the MagSafe Battery Pack, as I noted again just a few months ago. Hopefully Apple will do something to improve the product and then will bring it back.
• Since the iPhone now supports USB-C,  you might also want to use AirPods Pro that support USB-C. You can now buy that from Apple but you have to get the whole product, not just a new case. The new product is called the second-generation AirPods Pro, just like the old product. But as reported by Joe Rossignol of MacRumors, you get more than just a new charging port in the case; you also get support for the best noise quality when used with the upcoming Vision Pro headset. So if you plan to get an Apple Vision Pro next year, you might want to get new AirPods Pro as well.
• Dan Moren of Six Colors mentions some other tidbits that Apple did not announce during the presentation this week—like the new version of AirPods Pro—but that you should know about.
• Everyone who has held a new iPhone said that it feels much lighter than the model it replaces, even though Titanium should only reduce the weight by around 8% to 10%. Why is that? The blogger who goes by “Dr. Drang” (and who has a Ph.D. in engineering, so he tends to know what he is talking about) offers some theories on why this is. And yes, he shows his work when he does the math.
• Justin Meyers of Gadget Hacks identifies the differences between the iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
• Ben Lovejoy of 9to5Mac explains the reasons that he opted to get an iPhone 15 Pro Max. Spoiler alert: it’s the camera.
• One of the problems with Qi (wireless) charging is that if you don’t put your device on the charger in the right spot, it might not charge at all. Apple solves that problem in MagSafe by using magnets to make sure that everything is lined up correctly. Apple donated the MagSafe standard to the consortium behind Qi, and it is supposed to be part of the upcoming Qi2 standard. Apparently, the four new iPhone 15 models should support Qi2, but as Nathan Edwards of The Verge points out, this isn’t 100% clear because the Qi2 standard isn’t finished yet. But in theory, much like you can purchase any MagSafe device today and know that it will work well with your Apple products, in the future you will be able to purchase any Qi2 product and have the same degree of certainty that it will just work.
• Andrew O’Hara of AppleInsider reviews the new HiRise 3 Deluxe from Twelve South. This looks like an amazing product, offering MagSafe charging for an iPhone and support for the new StandBy Mode, plus an Apple Watch charger and a Qi charger (perfect for AirPods), all in a beautiful package that is Apple certified.
• Apple has phased out using leather in its products because of the environmental impact. Instead, Apple is using a soft material that it calls FineWoven, which is a type of microtwill. For example, for many years I have used a leather case made by Apple with my iPhone, but this year it is instead a FineWoven case. Although my new iPhone is still at least a week away, I received the case yesterday, and FineWoven feels very nice. It has some similarities to leather, and it seems to be a perfectly fine replacement. Apple is also using FineWoven in new Apple Watch bands. Antonio Benedetto of The Verge discusses Apple’s new use of FineWoven in its products.
• Apple may not be using leather, and the new Hermès Apple Watch bands that Apple is advertising don’t use leather, but Tim Hardwick of MacRumors reports that Hermès also has new leather band options that Apple is not selling through its own website. They are beautiful, but they are expensive.
• Mitchel Broussard of MacRumors identifies all of the new Apple Watch bands announced by Apple this week.
• Leander Kahney of Cult of Mac notes that there is now a new watch face for the Apple Watch Ultra and Ultra 2: Modular Ultra.
• This Monday, Apple will release iOS 17 and the related operating systems such as iPadOS 17. As I noted earlier this year, that means that we will get lots of new features. However, a few features announced by Apple won’t be ready for the initial launch date. John Voorhees of MacStories identifies that features that will take a little bit longer before they are ready.
• Jovana Naumovski of Gadget Hacks identifies some of the great features coming to Safari on the iPhone this Monday in iOS 17.
• Before the Apple announcements this week, Tripp Mickle of the New York Times explored why the iPhone is so popular. One interesting statistic: nearly 90% of all teenagers own an iPhone. In my household, that statistic is 100%: 2 out of 2.
• John Cook of GeekWire shares a story of how he accidentally “butt-dailed” Apple Satellite SOS Emergency Service while he was hiking in the Dinosaur National Monument near the Colorado and Utah border.
• There were some Easter Eggs during the Apple announcement video this week. William Gallagher of Apple Insider reports that Apple hid in plain sight some of its famous prior products in the video.
• Amber Neely of Apple Insider reports on a woman in Utah who swallowed her AirPod instead of a vitamin. Whoops.
• A big congratulations to Tara Cheever of Lit Software, the maker of amazing iPad apps for lawyers such as TrialPad and TranscriptPad. Tara was honored this week by the Legal Technology Resource Center as one of the top Women in Legal Tech. Tara has helped countless attorneys do more with their iPads over the years, and this recognition is well-deserved.
• And finally, part of Apple’s presentation earlier this week was this video called Mother Nature. When I first saw the video, it struck me as a little silly. But upon a second watching, I’ve changed my mind. This approach is a fun and effective way for Apple to identify the significant efforts that it is taking to reduce its carbon footprint without being too preachy. So in the end, I like this video. Check it out and see what you think: